Facebook popularity may hurt good causes

People with more Facebook friends are less likely to share information about charitable causes, according to a new study.

University of Warwick economist Kimberley Scharf claims that when we have larger online social networks we rely on other people to pass on information about opportunities to give. This phenomenon is called “free riding.”

“This is what matters, the closeness of social interactions: large loosely connected groups share information less effectively than smaller, better integrated groups,” she says.